The New Iraq – Discovering Business 2015
Allurentis, UK publishers of The New Iraq series, are now in production of the 2015 edition of the book. This will be the sixth edition and will be launched in the coming months. There are opportunities for organisations from all sectors to promote their services to a global audience through editorial features and advertising. For […]
Unemployment Rate Passes 25%
By John Lee. The Iraqi Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Mohammed Shayaa al-Sudani, has said that the unemployment rate in Iraq has passed 25 percent. Ministry statistics also show that Iraq's population is now almost 36 million, two million of whom are internally displaced as a result of the conflict with Islamic State (IS, […]
Higher Iraqi Taxes hit Turkish Poultry Exporters
By John Lee. New taxes in force since the beginning of last week mean that Turkish producers exporting into Iraq now need to pay US$290 per ton of exported chicken meat, rather than $35 previously. As a result, the Turkish poultry sector, which has the fourth largest share in the world’s poultry market, risks losing […]
74 Hotels Close in Iraqi Kurdistan
By John Lee. BasNews quotes the Head of the Kurdistan Restaurant and Hoteliers Association, Hersh Ahmad, as saying that 74 of the region's 2,500 hotels have closed down in Erbil recently: “The main reason is the fight against the Islamic State (IS) ... And those which still operate have fired 50% of their staff, increasing […]
Weekly Security Update: 24 February - 03 March 2015
National Overview As total nationwide fatalities hit their highest point since October 2014, the Iraqi Government launched the largest anti-ISIS offensive to date, in an attempt to retake one of the Islamic State group’s mains strongholds; Tikrit. The operation will be an important test case for Iraq’s Shiite-led government as it tries to reassert authority […]
Remarks on Recent Statements from the Ministry of Oil
Remarks on Recent Statements from the Ministry of Oil By Ahmed Mousa Jiyad. In the past two weeks, several statements reportedly attributed to the Minister of Oil, Mr. Adel Abdul Mahdi, have been circulating. An earlier one advocates the benefits of the Production Sharing Contracts, while the recent one deals with the alleged Iraqi indebtedness […]
Turkey to Explore for Oil in Qandil
By John Lee. Turkish energy minister Taner Yildiz said today that agreements with Iraqi administrations open the door for Turkish oil exploration in Iraqi Kurdistan: "We have agreements with Baghdad and [the government in] northern Iraq ... In the frame of these agreements, we will explore for oil there ... "There can be an additional […]
Iraqi Billionaire on Women’s Economic Empowerment
By Madeleine White. This is an extract from an article originally published by Nina Iraq, and is reproduced here with permission. The Iraqi billionaire industrialist shares the secret of his success – Women’s Economic Empowerment! We had risen early and were driving from Erbil through the mountains to Suli, welcomed by a glorious dawn. I […]
KRG to Import Gas, Electricity from Iran
By John Lee. Roza Othman, a member of the Natural Resources Committee in the Kurdistan Parliament, has said that the KRG will sign a contract with Iran to import gas and electricity. The imported electricity and gas will be for civilians, and the gas will be delivered by pipeline. The Head of the Parliamentary Committee […]
Erbil Business Conference Highlights Open markets
The first day of the Erbil Business Conference highlighted the interest of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to attract investment and to operate within the principles of open markets whilst battling the perception that it is a dangerous place to operate. The Conference started with a speech by the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan, Nerchivan […]
Afren Shares Rally on Deferred Payment
By John Lee. Shares in Afren plc were trading 20 percent higher on Monday after the company announced that it has negotiated a deferral of the US$50m amortisation payment due on 31 January 2015 until 31 March 2015. The agreement was made with the lenders of the US$300m Ebok debt facility. In addition, the Board […]
Oil Exports Reach 2.6m bpd in Feb
By John Lee. Reuters reports that Iraq's oil exports rose in February to an average 2.597 million barrels per day, up from 2.535 million bpd in January. Iraq's southern terminals reached 2.293 million bpd, slightly down on the previous month due to bad weather, while exports from the north via the Kurdistan pipeline more than […]